Ravioli with Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce

This is one of those recipes that is perfect, perfect, perfect for those long days where everything goes wrong, but at the end of the day you still have to make dinner.  It's simple and delicious and comforting and only takes 20 minutes, and that's including slicing up those cute little grape tomatoes at a very reasonable rate of speed.

(Why are they called grape tomatoes, by the way?  Is it because they are shaped like grapes?  That seems like too easy an answer.  Please advise.)

Anyway, if you have some grape tomatoes hanging around, and a bag of frozen cheese ravioli in your fridge (and you should ALWAYS have an emergency bag of cheese ravioli in your fridge...trust me on this), you are twenty short minutes away from having a supper that will melt all your cares away.  You saute a little bit of shallot in some olive oil, and then add in those halved grape tomatoes and about a cup of white wine.  (Pour another glass of wine while you cook.  It will help speed up the melting-away-of-cares process.).  Let the tomatoes simmer in the wine for about five minutes, just until they are a just a little soft.  In the meantime, cook up your ravioli.  Once both the ravioli and the tomatoes are done, swirl a couple tablespoons of butter into the tomato-wine sauce, and then add the ravioli and stir lovingly.  You're in a better mood already by now.  Yes you are.

Now sprinkle with some fresh chopped parsley, grind a little pepper on top, put on some jazz, light some candles, and all of the sudden it's a great night.  This is guaranteed to work every time.  Give it a try and see!

Ravioli with Tomatoes in White Wine Sauce, adapted from Real Simple

• 16 to 18 ounces fresh or frozen cheese ravioli
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup dry white wine
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cook the ravioli according to the package directions, drain, and return them to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes, wine, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and simmer until the tomatoes begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add butter and stir until it is melted into the sauce.

4. Gently toss the ravioli with the tomato mixture and parsley.

Print this!

Ravioli with Baby Spinach and Bacon

Okay, so here's my philosophy: anything that involves spinach, which I actually LOVE,  counts as health food.  It completely cancels out any non-healthy contributions that the bacon may make to this dish.  And the ravioli, well that is just neutral.  Scrumptious, but the its the food equivalent of Switzerland.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

In the meantime, this is another super easy dish that is a wonderful combo of three things that you might not occur to you to put in the same pan, but that actually work PERFECTLY together.  The spinach is sauteed quickly with a little garlic while the ravioli cooks.  In the meantime,  put the bacon in the oven for about ten minutes until it is crisp and get someone reliable to chop it into bite-sized pieces while you are sauteing the spinach.

Sorry, but not you.

Stir the chopped bacon into the spinach, squeeze in a little fresh lemon juice and when you have all that done, toss the ravioli with the tiniest bit of olive oil, and then spoon the spinach and bacon mixture over the top.  A little fresh-ground pepper, and dinner is on the table.

Isn't it great when dinner is both fabulous AND ready in 15 minutes?

Ravioli with Baby Spinach and Bacon, from Real Simple

• 1 pound ravioli (fresh or frozen)
• 6 slices bacon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 8 cups baby spinach
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Cook the ravioli according to the package directions. Drain and divide among bowls.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a paper towel–lined plate. Crumble.
3. Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spinach, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, tossing, until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir the bacon and lemon juice into the spinach. Spoon the mixture over the ravioli.

Click here for printable recipe

Naked Ravioli

Okay, so I would like to clear up something right away.  When I posted on my Facebook page that I was making this particular recipe for dinner, there was a fair amount of, shall I say ALARM, about the title of the recipe.  Some people were concerned for my safety.  Others were just discombobulated in general about what on earth was going on in my kitchen. So just let me state clearly and for the record: it is the RAVIOLI that is naked.  Not the cook.  The cook remained fully clothed at all time, as you can see from the photograph below.

Now that we can all breathe a deep sigh of relief, let me tell you what is going on here.

Naked ravioli basically means that you are getting the filling of the ravioli - in this case a scrumptious mixture of veal, parmesan cheese, herbs and some other things - OUTSIDE of the pasta. So the ravioli filling is, well, naked.  I toss some bow-tie pasta into this dish so you still get the happiness of the pasta part, it's just not wrapped around the filling.  Making the filling naked.  Are you getting the drift here?  

So now that we all understand each other, here's what happens.  You mix up some ground veal, chopped onion, a beaten egg, some grated parmesan, a little chopped fresh parsley and some salt and pepper, and roll them into a whole batch of little tiny meatballs - about 1/2 inch inch in diameter, give or take.  Drop them in some salted boiling water, and at the same time melt about a half a stick of butter with some fresh sage leaves until the butter is melted and golden brown.

When the meatballs are done, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and cook up a batch of bow-tie pasta in that same water.  Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water and when the pasta is done, toss everything together in one bowl - pasta, meatballs, butter mixture, some of the pasta water to loosen up the sauce - and add in some peas and a little more parmesan cheese. And there you have it - all the makings of ravioli, but WAY easier than making it from scratch and with the filling on the outside rather than being contained in the pasta.  Or in other words...naked.

I think I have now used the word "naked" on my blog more times than I ever have before, or ever will again.  I'm hoping and wondering if this might actually increase my blog traffic.

One way or the other, give this fun dish a try!

Naked Ravioli

• 1 pound ground veal (you can also use ground pork or beef or any combo thereof!)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 pound bow-tie pasta
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• Salt and pepper
• Extra grated parmesan for garnish

1. Combine meat, egg, cheese, parsley and onion.  Roll into balls about 1/2 inch in diameter and pop in the fridge until ready to use.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add a tablespoon of salt.  Cook meatballs in boiling water for 5 minutes and remove with slotted spoon.  Put in a bowl and cover to keep warm.  Cook pasta in the same water until done, adding the peas during the last minute of cooking.  Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.   Drain.

3. Meanwhile,  cook butter and sage leaves together in small pot until butter is light brown, about 5 minutes.  Toss pasta with butter mixture, reserved meatballs and enough pasta water to make a light sauce.  Salt and peper to taste.  Top with grated parsmesan and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

Continuing on with my valiant effort to use up all my fresh herbs while summer is still summer, I bring you one of my most favorite, easiest, most crowd-pleasing dishes ever. There is something a dish with the words "browned butter" in the title that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Well, it works for me, anyway. Browned butter is exactly what it sounds like: butter that has been melted and simmered over low heat until it starts to turn slightly, well, brown. And with that browning it takes on a bit of a nutty taste that is rich and wonderful.

So this sauce calls not only for fabulous brown butter, but also for a generous amount of this:

That would be the acres and acres of sage in my back yard. Okay, it is only a wooden barrel-ful of sage, but this stuff is tenacious, and it needs to be dealt with. And one of the most satisfying ways is with this scrumptious recipe. Start by boiling up your favorite ravioli - I like the nice big round cheese kind. While the ravioli is cooking, you melt some butter in your favorite skillet and add some chopped shallots, stirring them around until they soften. Then toss in those fresh sage leaves and cook them until they just start getting crispy. All of this is going to take about 5 minutes, and by now the butter will be getting just a little brown. Add a little salt and pepper and pour the whole thing over your cooked ravioli. Last but not least toss very gently with some grated Parmesan cheese, and there you are! The entire process took you about 15 minutes, and you are in ravioli heaven.

More herb-using strategies to come in the next post.

Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage, adapted from Real Simple

1 package cheese ravioli

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium shallots, sliced thinly

20 fresh sage leaves

Salt and fresh ground pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions.

2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium low heat until it foams. Add shallots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the sage and cook until leaves turn slightly crisp, another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add cooked ravioli to the skillet and toss gently. Add 1/3 cup parmesan and toss gently again. Divide among dishes and top with remaining parmesan and another grinding of fresh pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Baked Ravioli with Goat Cheese and Pistou

I made this particular recipe because I found these adorable baby ravioli at the supermarket and they were just PERFECT for this dish, which is basically little individual ravioli and goat cheese casseroles. You could absolutely use the big ravioli, but the little ones mean you can get more raviolis in there, and I am all about as much ravioli as possible in life.

I also learned what the word "pistou" means: it is a sauce made of basil leaves, oil oil and garlic. I bet you thought that was pesto, but no -- pesto means there are ground up nuts in the sauce as well. Pistou has no nuts in it. See that? You learn something new every day. Unless I was the only one who didn't already know what pistou was, which is entirely possible. I should warn you that aside from being very delicious, pistou is also extremely garlicky. Which I personally love, but you gotta love garlic to like this one. If you do, we are all set.

So the first thing you do is make that pistou, which entails whirling fresh basil in your food processor with garlic and just enough olive oil to make a thick sauce. Cook the ravioli halfway and toss them in olive oil, and then you are ready to assemble. Pull out your favorite single serving baking dishes (although if you want to make this in one big casserole I am sure that would be perfectly fine) and layer in ravioli, some crumbled goat cheese and a spoonful of pistou. One more layer of ravioli, drizzle with cream, a generous layer of grated Parmesan and pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes. Take them out, scatter some pine nuts and chopped fresh basil on top, and there you go. Yum, right??

BAKED RAVIOLI WITH GOAT CHEESE AND PISTOU

• 1 large bunch fresh basil (save a few leaves for garnish)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 ounce package fresh ravioli
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 3/4 cup cream
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Pine nuts for garnish

1. Process basil and garlic in food processor until minced very fine. Add enough olive oil to make a thick sauce. This is the pistou

2. Cook ravioli for half the package cooking time. Drain and toss with remaining oil.

3. Butter 4 individual serving dishes and layer ingredients as follows, dividing ingredients into quarters: layer of ravioli, goat cheese, pistou, remaining ravioli, cream and parmesan cheese.

4. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until ravioli starts to turn golden at the edges.

5. Serve garnished with pine nuts and chopped basil.

Click here for printable recipe

Ravioli with Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

'Tis the season of the butternut squash, and oh how I love it. I've already rhapsodized about this wonderful roasted butternut dip, and of course butternut is just awesome baked up with some oil oil and herbs. But this recipe today uses it as the base for a pasta sauce -- in this case ravioli. Creative, right? This is another one I found on the Everyday Foods website, and I'm pretty much sticking with their version in the recipe below, but I do have to admit that I got to skip the hardest part of the whole thing, which is cutting up the usually hard as a rock butternut. My beloved Fairway supermarket always has butternut already peeled and chopped and ready for me to roast. And those times that I have actually set food in another supermarket, I have also seen peeled and chopped butternut for sale there, too. Yes, it is definitely more expensive than tackling the butternut preparation yourself. But trust me, it's worth it.

Anyway, once you get past the butternut-chopping, it is all an easy downhill cruise from there. You roast those happy little butternut chunks with some garlic and sage, and then whiz them in your handy food processor with a little bit of light cream and water. Season it as you like and you have the most wonderful and different pasta sauce. I tossed mine with some little beef ravioli and sprinkled it with chopped walnuts and chopped fresh sage, but go crazy with your own ideas. Tortellini, pappardale, roasted pistachios, chopped parsley....you really can't go wrong.

So, happy butternut season...yum, yum.

RAVIOLI WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA SAUCE, from Everyday Food

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, peel on
• 1 cup half-and-half
• Pasta (ravioli or any short pasta), about 1/2 pound depending on what kind you are using.
  
• Your choice of toppings, such as grated parmesan cheese, chopped toasted walnuts, finely chopped fresh sage, etc etc etc
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a large, sharp knife, trim ends; halve squash crosswise to separate bulb from neck. Peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut both pieces in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds; discard. Or, do like I do and pick up the already peeled and chopped butternut at your favorite supermarket.
2. Cut squash into 2-inch chunks; transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil and sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic around squash. Roast until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Remove skin from garlic.
3. Transfer squash and garlic to a food processor; puree. With motor running, add half-and-half through the feed tube; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups water; continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Season again generously with salt.
4. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta; toss to coat. Add some pasta water to thin sauce if necessary. Serve with desired toppings.

Click here for printable recipe

Red Pesto Ravioli

You'd think that with the basil outside my door almost as high as an elephant's eye I would be making green pesto, but I came across this recipe on one of my favorite sites, 101 Cookbooks, and I couldn't resist. The pesto in this case is made out of sundried tomatoes, garlic, red pepper, fresh thyme (which is also growing like crazy so THAT is good), olive oil and walnuts.

You of course need some really really good ravioli. I got some fresh round ones at Fairway, the large ones that come 12 to a box. Mine were regular cheese ravioli, but almost any cheese variety would work (the recipe suggested goat cheese ravioli and next time I will definitely try that). 101 Cookbooks put theirs on a bed of fresh baby spinach tossed with salt and olive oil, but in my only departure from this great recipe, I cooked my baby spinach instead. The whole thing can be put together in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the ravioli -- in other words, this is an under 15 minutes recipe that looks and tastes just stunning.

If you don't know 101 Cookbooks you must check it out, and to get you started here is a link to the red pesto ravioli. Soon we will return to our regularly scheduled program of using up the basil. All suggestions for how to do that gratefully accepted.

Red Pesto Ravioli